Skate blade sharpening system

Abstract

A skate blade sharpening system used to sharpen the blades of ice skates. The skate sharpener can include a housing that includes an elongated slot for receiving the blade of an ice skate for sharpening, and clamp jaws for retaining the skate. The housing can include at least one slot cover to engage the skate blade. Engagement of the skate blade can be sensed by a controller to enable sharpening operations to proceed. The skate blade sharpening system can automatically operate a grinding wheel and move the rotating grinding wheel back and forth along the lower face of the skate blade a desired number of times to sharpen the skate blade.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method of operating a skate blade sharpening system, the method comprising:
 initiating a sharpening operation with a grinding component using the skate blade sharpening system, wherein a motor-driven component is housed within the skate blade sharpening system; 
 rotating the grinding component at a first speed; 
 translating the grinding component longitudinally toward a bottom edge of a skate blade retained by a skate blade holder; 
 determining when the grinding component contacts the bottom edge of the skate blade; 
 after determining the grinding component contacted the skate blade, increasing the rotating speed of the grinding component from the first speed to a second speed; 
 translating the grinding component longitudinally along a bottom edge of a skate blade in a first direction, the grinding component having an outer surface dimensioned and configured to sharpen the bottom edge of the skate blade; 
 determining when the grinding component is not in contact with the bottom edge of the skate blade; 
 reversing direction of the grinding component; and 
 translating the grinding component longitudinally toward the bottom edge of the skate blade in the opposite direction. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining when the grinding component contacts the bottom edge of the skate blade is based, at least in part, on whether a motor current increases above a defined threshold. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining when the grinding component is not in contact the bottom edge of the skate blade is based, at least in part, on whether a motor current decreases below a defined threshold. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 3 , wherein determining when the grinding component is not in contact the bottom edge of the skate blade is further based, at least in part, on whether the motor current is below the defined threshold for a determined amount of time. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 3 , wherein the defined threshold is based, at least in part, on at least one of a current level of the motor while the grinding component was in contact with the skate blade or when the grinding component was not in contact with the skate blade. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining when the grinding component is not in contact the bottom edge of the skate blade is based, at least in part, on whether a motor current decreases a defined amount over a defined period of time. 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 1 , wherein increasing the rotating speed of the grinding component from the first speed to the second speed includes ramping the rotating speed from the first speed to the second speed over a period of time. 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 7 , wherein the skate blade sharpening system uses a linear or exponential control algorithm to ramp the rotating speed from the first speed to the second speed. 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first speed is less than 3,500 RPM. 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the second speed is greater than 5,000 RPM. 
     
     
       11. A skate blade sharpening system, the system comprising:
 a motor-driven component housed within the skate blade sharpening system; 
 a skate blade retention mechanism; 
 a controller configured with computer-readable instructions that configure the skate blade sharpening system to:
 initiate a sharpening operation with a grinding component coupled to the motor driven component; 
 rotate the grinding component at a first speed; 
 translate the grinding component longitudinally toward a bottom edge of a skate blade retained by a skate blade holder; 
 determine when the grinding component contacts the bottom edge of the skate blade; 
 after determining the grinding component contacted the skate blade, increase the rotating speed of the grinding component from the first speed to the second speed; 
 translate the grinding component longitudinally along a bottom edge of a skate blade in a first direction, the grinding component having an outer surface dimensioned and configured to sharpen the bottom edge of the skate blade; 
 determine when the grinding component is not in contact with the bottom edge of the skate blade; 
 reverse direction of the grinding component; and 
 translate the grinding component longitudinally toward the bottom edge of the skate blade in the opposite direction. 
 
 
     
     
       12. The system of  claim 11 , wherein determining when the grinding component contacts the bottom edge of the skate blade is based, at least in part, on whether a motor current increases above a defined threshold. 
     
     
       13. The system of  claim 11 , wherein determining when the grinding component is not in contact the bottom edge of the skate blade is based, at least in part, on whether a motor current decreases below a defined threshold. 
     
     
       14. The system of  claim 13 , wherein determining when the grinding component is not in contact the bottom edge of the skate blade is further based, at least in part, on whether the motor current is below the defined threshold for a determined amount of time. 
     
     
       15. The system of  claim 14 , wherein the defined threshold is based, at least in part, on at least one of a current level of the motor while the grinding component was in contact with the skate blade or when the grinding component was not in contact with the skate blade. 
     
     
       16. The system of  claim 11 , wherein increasing the rotating speed of the grinding component from the first speed to the second speed includes ramping the rotating speed from the first speed to the second speed over a period of time. 
     
     
       17. The system of  claim 16 , wherein the skate blade sharpening system is further configured to use a linear or exponential control algorithm to ramp the rotating speed from the first speed to the second speed. 
     
     
       18. The system of  claim 11 , wherein the first speed is less than or equal to 3,500 RPM. 
     
     
       19. The system of  claim 11 , wherein the second speed is greater than or equal to 5,000 RPM. 
     
     
       20. The system of  claim 11 , wherein the first speed is less than or equal to 2,000 RPM and second speed is greater than or equal to about 8,000 RPM.